7.26.2017

nfp is not the rhythm method {nfp awareness week}

{updated the title...}
It's NFP awareness week. {and just to clear things up: NFP is not the rhythm method... not all women ovulate on day 14} I won't even attempt an NFP article this year. Who wants to hear from a mom of five? I don't want newlyweds to get freaked out hearing NFP from a mom of 5.

We are successful conceiving rather than delaying with NFP. TMI here but we knew when we conceived our littles. Hello phase II! We have been most successful interpreting our charts to delay pregnancy during med school. We delayed pregnancy using NFP for a couple of years. Once I started taking call intern year and my temps were all over the place when I don't sleep for 24 hours every 4th night, it was a little harder. I had days of no temps charted and we just relied on the symptoms.... Then once Daniel came, we struggled with the return of fertility signs during breastfeeding. I admit, we have one that we misinterpreted the graph because I had a 50 day cycle. After that confusion and a blessing (hello Bastian!) we enrolled to another NFP class. The way they teach the classes now was easier than the way we initially learned NFP.

Because of NFP, we have been more open to life, learned to be more sacrificing and loving as we add more and more in our brood.

I think it's funny to write about NFP and add 18 photos of my family during our downtime downtown. This is a glimpse of why we are open to life. The beauty and love we see in these children. We see the image of God in them.

Below are better posts and reasons for NFP - better than I'd ever write about it. Credit given to source.
"NFP can repair the damage (divorce rate doubling, drop in commitment between men and women)**. Men acknowledge responsibility to their wives.
Commitment increases because the couples know when pregnancy is likely before they
make love. Their trust increases: she trusts he will fulfill his obligations when he assents
to sex; he trusts she is making accurate observations of her fertility and is keeping him
informed.

He develops a sense of awe in the way God made her, and she develops a sense of
gratitude that he is willing to sacrifice his own pleasure for her sake. And both grow in
their love and trust in God when they see the plan for sex and marriage that He built into
their bodies."-Fletcher Doyle

"The Church’s teaching on contraception is not just a doctrine that states what not to do.
Many people would benefit from knowing that it is a doctrine that explains how extraordinarily
important is the act of having children. One reason that modern culture has trouble understanding
the truth of Humanae Vitae is that it fails to appreciate what a profound good children are...
They do not always realize that in having children they are “co-creators” with God...

...Our culture does not really focus on helping people to realize that some day they will
likely be parents and how tremendously important a task that is. We do not often think that we should be spending much of our youth preparing for the responsibilities of being parents.
Contraception enables us to think of sexual intercourse as a casual and to some extent as an
insignificant act rather than an act that can change the universe – for the coming to be of a new
human being truly changes the universe. Someone who did not exist before comes into existence
and will remain in existence forever...

If people were conscious of the extreme significance of the sexual act, they could not
possibly be as cavalier about it as they now are. They would choose their spouses very very
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carefully – and use as a foremost criterion the suitability of that person to be a parent. Those who
succeed in marrying someone who will be a good parent – someone who is patient, generous,
responsible, kind, other directed, and reliable also are nearly guaranteed to get a terrific spouse –
for who wouldn’t want a spouse with those virtues?"-Janet E. Smith PhD

"The Church does not teach that couples should have a certain number of children, but it
does offer teaching about responsible parenthood which can be summarized in these five points:

Husbands and wives have a responsibility to understand and honor the wisdom of the
body, including its biological processes.

Humans share certain instincts and passions, and Christians are to guard and control them
through reason and will.

Taking into consideration the physical, economic, psychological and social conditions of
their marriage, couples exercise responsible parenthood by a prudent and generous decision to raise a large family, or by a decision (for serious reasons and made according
to the moral law) to avoid a new birth for the time being, or even for an indefinite period.

Responsible parenthood has its roots in the truth about right and wrong established by
God, and spouses have a duty to inform their consciences and make decisions according
to this truth. Husbands and wives recognize their duties toward God, themselves, their
family and society, and are called to maintain a proper set of priorities.

Offering their marriage in discipleship to the Lord Jesus, couples do not make purely
arbitrary or subjective decisions regarding becoming parents but use the wisdom of God
as their guide. As in every other aspect of their lives, Christian couples always remain
open to God’s wisdom and providence regarding family life, including the size of their
particular family. Since God brought them together and shares his love with them, he will
always guide them along paths that are best for them.

Interwoven among these aspects of responsible parenthood is the understanding that the
two great meanings or values of marriage--the unitive and procreative--are never separated. A
love that is complete and faithful, a love which holds nothing back from the other, will remain
open to God's creative plan."